System Pavers’ new Chief Growth Officer Brent Schaefer is building out the outdoor living company’s expansion playbook, with an emphasis on accelerating its physical footprint.
The Santa Ana-based direct-to-consumer firm specializes in outdoor residential remodels and upgrades—“from driveway pavers to walkways, patios to pergolas, barbecue islands to pool decks,” it says—and currently operates in 16 markets across six states.
Its two newest locations, in Tempe, Ariz., and Houston, were both added this year in January and April, respectively. The former city marks System Paver’s first branch in Arizona.
The outdoor living company is also set to open its first service center in Nevada by the end of this year.
The firm first surpassed $100 million in sales a couple of years ago and refers to itself as one of the home improvement industry’s fastest-growing companies.
20-30 Openings
“When you’re setting up a new market, you’re setting up a mini-System-Pavers multiple times,” Schaefer told the Business Journal.
“You must have a good understanding of the entire business to be able to do that multiple times a year at scale, and more and more times per year.”
Schaefer joined System Pavers in January after working with the company and other remodeling businesses while in investment banking at firms like Houlihan Lokey and Morgan Stanley for 10 years.
Chief Executive Syed Zaidi anticipates opening an additional 20 to 30 company branches and service centers over the next few years. It currently counts about 16 locations.
Orange County was System Pavers’ first market and the company still calls Santa Ana home to its largest facility, according to officials. The firm has served around 85,000 homeowners since its founding in 1992.
Zaidi has a goal of System Pavers becoming a national brand, not just regional to the West Coast.
“We are expanding rapidly and have opened more new markets this year than in recent years,” Schaefer said. “We are planning for more growth at an even faster pace in 2024.”
He added that the firm is currently looking into markets with the largest homeowner bases in order to go farther east in the near term.
No Limit
Schaefer said the company prioritizes markets “where you can enjoy outdoor living year-round.” He added that knowledge of its main customer base and demographic data however keeps all the doors open.
“You look around and see how many people have paved patios, paved driveways, outdoor fireplaces, outdoor kitchens and there really is no [geographical] limit on where we can go,” Schaefer said.
Hiring Plans
System Pavers’ new facility in Arizona has the capacity to add over 100 regional workers in the next five years, while Houston has the potential to hire more than 75 people for now.
The company currently counts over 600 total employees, with more than 100 in Orange County.
“We’re focused on providing others the opportunities that come with this growth,” Schaefer said.
In 2021, System Pavers beat revenue expectations of $115 million, according to CEO Zaidi.
Zaidi declined to share the company’s latest revenue figures but noted sales have continued to beat projections as well as outpace overall industry growth. Schaefer added that 2022 was a record year for the firm.
